Import Photos from a Remote Server into digiKam

Using commands under the Import menu, you can pull photos from a variety of sources, including remote servers. The latter functionality in digiKam is provided through the KioExportImport Kipi plugin which supports common protocols like FTP, SSH, and SMB.

To pull photos from a remote server, choose the Import → Import from remote computer command. In the import dialog window, press the Add Images button to open the Select Images dialog. There are two ways to access photos stored on a remote server. If the machine runs on the local network, you can access it by choosing the Network item in the Places panel (if the panel is not visible, press F9 to enable it). This will show all shares and services available on the local network. Navigate then to the desired share and select the photos you want to import.

Importing photos from a remote server

To access remote servers outside your local network, click on the Location field and enter the server’s URL. The URL must start with the protocol prefix (e.g., fish:// (for the SSH protocol or smb:// for the SMB protocol).

Once you’ve located the source directory, select the desired images and press Open to add them to the list of imported photos. In the My Albums pane, select the target album (or create a new one), and press the Start Import button to import the photos into digiKam.